The Civil Code of the Philippines

AN ACT TO ORDAIN AND INSTITUTE THE CIVIL CODE OF THE

PHILIPPINES
BOOK IV
OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS
Title. I. - OBLIGATIONS
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to
do. (n)
Art. 1157. Obligations arise from:
(1) Law;
(2) Contracts;
(3) Quasi-contracts;
(4) Acts or omissions punished by law; and
(5) Quasi-delicts. (1089a)
Art. 1158. Obligations derived from law are not presumed. Only those
expressly determined in this Code or in special laws are demandable,
and shall be regulated by the precepts of the law which establishes
them; and as to what has not been foreseen, by the provisions of this
Book. (1090)
Art. 1159. Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law
between the contracting parties and should be complied with in good
faith. (1091a)
Art. 1160. Obligations derived from quasi-contracts shall be subject to
the provisions of Chapter 1, Title XVII, of this Book. (n)
Art. 1161. Civil obligations arising from criminal offenses shall be
governed by the penal laws, subject to the provisions of Article 2177,
and of the pertinent provisions of Chapter 2, Preliminary Title, on
Human Relations, and of Title XVIII of this Book, regulating damages.
(1092a)
Art. 1162. Obligations derived from quasi-delicts shall be governed by
the provisions of Chapter 2, Title XVII of this Book, and by special laws.
(1093a)
CHAPTER 2
NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
Art. 1163. Every person obliged to give something is also obliged to take care of it with the
proper diligence of a good father of a family, unless the law or the stipulation of the parties
requires another standard of care. (1094a)
Art. 1164. The creditor has a right to the fruits of the thing from the time the obligation to
deliver it arises. However, he shall acquire no real right over it until the same has been
delivered to him. (1095)
Art. 1165. When what is to be delivered is a determinate thing, the creditor, in addition to
the right granted him by Article 1170, may compel the debtor to make the delivery.

If the thing is indeterminate or generic, he may ask that the obligation be complied with at
the expense of the debtor.
If the obligor delays, or has promised to deliver the same thing to two or more persons who
do not have the same interest, he shall be responsible for any fortuitous event until he has
effected the delivery. (1096)
Art. 1166. The obligation to give a determinate thing includes that of delivering all its
accessions and accessories, even though they may not have been mentioned. (1097a)
Art. 1167. If a person obliged to do something fails to do it, the same shall be executed at
his cost.
This same rule shall be observed if he does it in contravention of the tenor of the
obligation. Furthermore, it may be decreed that what has been poorly done be undone.
(1098)
Art. 1168. When the obligation consists in not doing, and the obligor does what has been
forbidden him, it shall also be undone at his expense. (1099a)
Art. 1169. Those obliged to deliver or to do something incur in delay from the time the
obligee judicially or extrajudicially demands from them the fulfillment of their obligation.
However, the demand by the creditor shall not be necessary in order that delay may exist:
(1) When the obligation or the law expressly so declare; or
(2) When from the nature and the circumstances of the obligation it appears that the
designation of the time when the thing is to be delivered or the service is to be rendered
was a controlling motive for the establishment of the contract; or
(3) When demand would be useless, as when the obligor has rendered it beyond his power
to perform.
In reciprocal obligations, neither party incurs in delay if the other does not comply or is not
ready to comply in a proper manner with what is incumbent upon him. From the moment
one of the parties fulfills his obligation, delay by the other begins. (1100a)
Art. 1170. Those who in the performance of their obligations are guilty of fraud,
negligence, or delay, and those who in any manner contravene the tenor thereof, are liable
for damages. (1101)
Art. 1171. Responsibility arising from fraud is demandable in all obligations. Any waiver of
an action for future fraud is void. (1102a)
Art. 1172. Responsibility arising from negligence in the performance of every kind of
obligation is also demandable, but such liability may be regulated by the courts, according
to the circumstances. (1103)
Art. 1173. The fault or negligence of the obligor consists in the omission of that diligence
which is required by the nature of the obligation and corresponds with the circumstances
of the persons, of the time and of the place. When negligence shows bad faith, the
provisions of Articles 1171 and 2201, paragraph 2, shall apply.
If the law or contract does not state the diligence which is to be observed in the
performance, that which is expected of a good father of a family shall be required. (1104a)
Art. 1174. Except in cases expressly specified by the law, or when it is otherwise declared
by stipulation, or when the nature of the obligation requires the assumption of risk, no
person shall be responsible for those events which could not be foreseen, or which, though
foreseen, were inevitable. (1105a)
Art. 1175. Usurious transactions shall be governed by special laws. (n)
Art. 1176. The receipt of the principal by the creditor without reservation with respect to
the interest, shall give rise to the presumption that said interest has been paid.
The receipt of a later installment of a debt without reservation as to prior installments,
shall likewise raise the presumption that such installments have been paid. (1110a)
Art. 1177. The creditors, after having pursued the property in possession of the debtor to
satisfy their claims, may exercise all the rights and bring all the actions of the latter for the
same purpose, save those which are inherent in his person; they may also impugn the acts
which the debtor may have done to defraud them. (1111)

Art. 1178. Subject to the laws, all rights acquired in virtue of an obligation are
transmissible, if there has been no stipulation to the contrary. (1112)
CHAPTER 3
DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS
SECTION 1. - Pure and Conditional Obligations
Art. 1179. Every obligation whose performance does not depend upon a future or uncertain
event, or upon a past event unknown to the parties, is demandable at once.
Every obligation which contains a resolutory condition shall also be demandable, without
prejudice to the effects of the happening of the event. (1113)
Art. 1180. When the debtor binds himself to pay when his means permit him to do so, the
obligation shall be deemed to be one with a period, subject to the provisions of Article
1197. (n)
Art. 1181. In conditional obligations, the acquisition of rights, as well as the
extinguishment or loss of those already acquired, shall depend upon the happening of the
event which constitutes the condition. (1114)
Art. 1182. When the fulfillment of the condition depends upon the sole will of the debtor,
the conditional obligation shall be void. If it depends upon chance or upon the will of a
third person, the obligation shall take effect in conformity with the provisions of this Code.
(1115)
Art. 1183. Impossible conditions, those contrary to good customs or public policy and those
prohibited by law shall annul the obligation which depends upon them. If the obligation is
divisible, that part thereof which is not affected by the impossible or unlawful condition
shall be valid.
The condition not to do an impossible thing shall be considered as not having been agreed
upon. (1116a)
Art. 1184. The condition that some event happen at a determinate time shall extinguish
the obligation as soon as the time expires or if it has become indubitable that the event
will not take place. (1117)
Art. 1185. The condition that some event will not happen at a determinate time shall
render the obligation effective from the moment the time indicated has elapsed, or if it has
become evident that the event cannot occur.
If no time has been fixed, the condition shall be deemed fulfilled at such time as may have
probably been contemplated, bearing in mind the nature of the obligation. (1118)
Art. 1186. The condition shall be deemed fulfilled when the obligor voluntarily prevents its
fulfillment. (1119)
Art. 1187. The effects of a conditional obligation to give, once the condition has been
fulfilled, shall retroact to the day of the constitution of the obligation. Nevertheless, when
the obligation imposes reciprocal prestations upon the parties, the fruits and interests
during the pendency of the condition shall be deemed to have been mutually compensated.
If the obligation is unilateral, the debtor shall appropriate the fruits and interests received,
unless from the nature and circumstances of the obligation it should be inferred that the
intention of the person constituting the same was different.
In obligations to do and not to do, the courts shall determine, in each case, the retroactive
effect of the condition that has been complied with. (1120)
Art. 1188. The creditor may, before the fulfillment of the condition, bring the appropriate
actions for the preservation of his right.
The debtor may recover what during the same time he has paid by mistake in case of a
suspensive condition. (1121a)
Art. 1189. When the conditions have been imposed with the intention of suspending the
efficacy of an obligation to give, the following rules shall be observed in case of the
improvement, loss or deterioration of the thing during the pendency of the condition:
(1) If the thing is lost without the fault of the debtor, the obligation shall be extinguished;

(2) If the thing is lost through the fault of the debtor, he shall be obliged to pay damages; it
is understood that the thing is lost when it perishes, or goes out of commerce, or
disappears in such a way that its existence is unknown or it cannot be recovered;
(3) When the thing deteriorates without the fault of the debtor, the impairment is to be
borne by the creditor;
(4) If it deteriorates through the fault of the debtor, the creditor may choose between the
rescission of the obligation and its fulfillment, with indemnity for damages in either case;
(5) If the thing is improved by its nature, or by time, the improvement shall inure to the
benefit of the creditor;
(6) If it is improved at the expense of the debtor, he shall have no other right than that
granted to the usufructuary. (1122)
Art. 1190. When the conditions have for their purpose the extinguishment of an obligation
to give, the parties, upon the fulfillment of said conditions, shall return to each other what
they have received.
In case of the loss, deterioration or improvement of the thing, the provisions which, with
respect to the debtor, are laid down in the preceding article shall be applied to the party
who is bound to return.
As for the obligations to do and not to do, the provisions of the second paragraph of Article
1187 shall be observed as regards the effect of the extinguishment of the obligation.
(1123)
Art. 1191. The power to rescind obligations is implied in reciprocal ones, in case one of the
obligors should not comply with what is incumbent upon him.
The injured party may choose between the fulfillment and the rescission of the obligation,
with the payment of damages in either case. He may also seek rescission, even after he has
chosen fulfillment, if the latter should become impossible.
The court shall decree the rescission claimed, unless there be just cause authorizing the
fixing of a period.
This is understood to be without prejudice to the rights of third persons who have acquired
the thing, in accordance with Articles 1385 and 1388 and the Mortgage Law. (1124)
Art. 1192. In case both parties have committed a breach of the obligation, the liability of
the first infractor shall be equitably tempered by the courts. If it cannot be determined
which of the parties first violated the contract, the same shall be deemed extinguished,
and each shall bear his own damages. (n)
SECTION 2. - Obligations with a Period
Art. 1193. Obligations for whose fulfillment a day certain has been fixed, shall be
demandable only when that day comes.
Obligations with a resolutory period take effect at once, but terminate upon arrival of the
day certain.
A day certain is understood to be that which must necessarily come, although it may not be
known when.
If the uncertainty consists in whether the day will come or not, the obligation is
conditional, and it shall be regulated by the rules of the preceding Section. (1125a)
Art. 1194. In case of loss, deterioration or improvement of the thing before the arrival of
the day certain, the rules in Article 1189 shall be observed. (n)
Art. 1195. Anything paid or delivered before the arrival of the period, the obligor being
unaware of the period or believing that the obligation has become due and demandable,
may be recovered, with the fruits and interests. (1126a)
Art. 1196. Whenever in an obligation a period is designated, it is presumed to have been
established for the benefit of both the creditor and the debtor, unless from the tenor of
the same or other circumstances it should appear that the period has been established in
favor of one or of the other. (1127)
Art. 1197. If the obligation does not fix a period, but from its nature and the circumstances
it can be inferred that a period was intended, the courts may fix the duration thereof.

The courts shall also fix the duration of the period when it depends upon the will of the
debtor.
In every case, the courts shall determine such period as may under the circumstances have
been probably contemplated by the parties. Once fixed by the courts, the period cannot be
changed by them. (1128a)
Art. 1198. The debtor shall lose every right to make use of the period:
(1) When after the obligation has been contracted, he becomes insolvent, unless he gives a
guaranty or security for the debt;
(2) When he does not furnish to the creditor the guaranties or securities which he has
promised;
(3) When by his own acts he has impaired said guaranties or securities after their
establishment, and when through a fortuitous event they disappear, unless he immediately
gives new ones equally satisfactory;
(4) When the debtor violates any undertaking, in consideration of which the creditor
agreed to the period;
(5) When the debtor attempts to abscond. (1129a)
SECTION 3. - Alternative Obligations
Art. 1199. A person alternatively bound by different prestations shall completely perform
one of them.
The creditor cannot be compelled to receive part of one and part of the other undertaking.
(1131)
Art. 1200. The right of choice belongs to the debtor, unless it has been expressly granted
to the creditor.
The debtor shall have no right to choose those prestations which are impossible, unlawful
or which could not have been the object of the obligation. (1132)
Art. 1201. The choice shall produce no effect except from the time it has been
communicated. (1133)
Art. 1202. The debtor shall lose the right of choice when among the prestations whereby
he is alternatively bound, only one is practicable. (1134)
Art. 1203. If through the creditor's acts the debtor cannot make a choice according to the
terms of the obligation, the latter may rescind the contract with damages. (n)
Art. 1204. The creditor shall have a right to indemnity for damages when, through the fault
of the debtor, all the things which are alternatively the object of the obligation have been
lost, or the compliance of the obligation has become impossible.
The indemnity shall be fixed taking as a basis the value of the last thing which disappeared,
or that of the service which last became impossible.
Damages other than the value of the last thing or service may also be awarded. (1135a)
Art. 1205. When the choice has been expressly given to the creditor, the obligation shall
cease to be alternative from the day when the selection has been communicated to the
debtor.
Until then the responsibility of the debtor shall be governed by the following rules:
(1) If one of the things is lost through a fortuitous event, he shall perform the obligation by
delivering that which the creditor should choose from among the remainder, or that which
remains if only one subsists;
(2) If the loss of one of the things occurs through the fault of the debtor, the creditor may
claim any of those subsisting, or the price of that which, through the fault of the former,
has disappeared, with a right to damages;
(3) If all the things are lost through the fault of the debtor, the choice by the creditor shall
fall upon the price of any one of them, also with indemnity for damages.
The same rules shall be applied to obligations to do or not to do in case one, some or all of
the prestations should become impossible. (1136a)
Art. 1206. When only one prestation has been agreed upon, but the obligor may render
another in substitution, the obligation is called facultative.

The loss or deterioration of the thing intended as a substitute, through the negligence of
the obligor, does not render him liable. But once the substitution has been made, the
obligor is liable for the loss of the substitute on account of his delay, negligence or fraud.
(n)
SECTION 4. - Joint and Solidary Obligations
Art. 1207. The concurrence of two or more creditors or of two or more debtors in one and
the same obligation does not imply that each one of the former has a right to demand, or
that each one of the latter is bound to render, entire compliance with the prestation.
There is a solidary liability only when the obligation expressly so states, or when the law or
the nature of the obligation requires solidarity. (1137a)
Art. 1208. If from the law, or the nature or the wording of the obligations to which the
preceding article refers the contrary does not appear, the credit or debt shall be presumed
to be divided into as many shares as there are creditors or debtors, the credits or debts
being considered distinct from one another, subject to the Rules of Court governing the
multiplicity of suits. (1138a)
Art. 1209. If the division is impossible, the right of the creditors may be prejudiced only by
their collective acts, and the debt can be enforced only by proceeding against all the
debtors. If one of the latter should be insolvent, the others shall not be liable for his share.
(1139)
Art. 1210. The indivisibility of an obligation does not necessarily give rise to solidarity. Nor
does solidarity of itself imply indivisibility. (n)
Art. 1211. Solidarity may exist although the creditors and the debtors may not be bound in
the same manner and by the same periods and conditions. (1140)
Art. 1212. Each one of the solidary creditors may do whatever may be useful to the others,
but not anything which may be prejudicial to the latter. (1141a)
Art. 1213. A solidary creditor cannot assign his rights without the consent of the others. (n)
Art. 1214. The debtor may pay any one of the solidary creditors; but if any demand,
judicial or extrajudicial, has been made by one of them, payment should be made to him.
(1142a)
Art. 1215. Novation, compensation, confusion or remission of the debt, made by any of the
solidary creditors or with any of the solidary debtors, shall extinguish the obligation,
without prejudice to the provisions of Article 1219.
The creditor who may have executed any of these acts, as well as he who collects the debt,
shall be liable to the others for the share in the obligation corresponding to them. (1143)
Art. 1216. The creditor may proceed against any one of the solidary debtors or some or all
of them simultaneously. The demand made against one of them shall not be an obstacle to
those which may subsequently be directed against the others, so long as the debt has not
been fully collected. (1144a)
Art. 1217. Payment made by one of the solidary debtors extinguishes the obligation. If two
or more solidary debtors offer to pay, the creditor may choose which offer to accept.
He who made the payment may claim from his co-debtors only the share which corresponds
to each, with the interest for the payment already made. If the payment is made before
the debt is due, no interest for the intervening period may be demanded.
When one of the solidary debtors cannot, because of his insolvency, reimburse his share to
the debtor paying the obligation, such share shall be borne by all his co-debtors, in
proportion to the debt of each. (1145a)
Art. 1218. Payment by a solidary debtor shall not entitle him to reimbursement from his
co-debtors if such payment is made after the obligation has prescribed or become illegal.
(n)
Art. 1219. The remission made by the creditor of the share which affects one of the
solidary debtors does not release the latter from his responsibility towards the co-debtors,
in case the debt had been totally paid by anyone of them before the remission was
effected. (1146a)

Art. 1220. The remission of the whole obligation, obtained by one of the solidary debtors,
does not entitle him to reimbursement from his co-debtors. (n)
Art. 1221. If the thing has been lost or if the prestation has become impossible without the
fault of the solidary debtors, the obligation shall be extinguished.
If there was fault on the part of any one of them, all shall be responsible to the creditor,
for the price and the payment of damages and interest, without prejudice to their action
against the guilty or negligent debtor.
If through a fortuitous event, the thing is lost or the performance has become impossible
after one of the solidary debtors has incurred in delay through the judicial or extrajudicial
demand upon him by the creditor, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply.
(1147a)
Art. 1222. A solidary debtor may, in actions filed by the creditor, avail himself of all
defenses which are derived from the nature of the obligation and of those which are
personal to him, or pertain to his own share. With respect to those which personally belong
to the others, he may avail himself thereof only as regards that part of the debt for which
the latter are responsible. (1148a)
SECTION 5. - Divisible and Indivisible Obligations
Art. 1223. The divisibility or indivisibility of the things that are the object of obligations in
which there is only one debtor and only one creditor does not alter or modify the
provisions of Chapter 2 of this Title. (1149)
Art. 1224. A joint indivisible obligation gives rise to indemnity for damages from the time
anyone of the debtors does not comply with his undertaking. The debtors who may have
been ready to fulfill their promises shall not contribute to the indemnity beyond the
corresponding portion of the price of the thing or of the value of the service in which the
obligation consists. (1150)
Art. 1225. For the purposes of the preceding articles, obligations to give definite things and
those which are not susceptible of partial performance shall be deemed to be indivisible.
When the obligation has for its object the execution of a certain number of days of work,
the accomplishment of work by metrical units, or analogous things which by their nature
are susceptible of partial performance, it shall be divisible.
However, even though the object or service may be physically divisible, an obligation is
indivisible if so provided by law or intended by the parties.
In obligations not to do, divisibility or indivisibility shall be determined by the character of
the prestation in each particular case. (1151a)
SECTION 6. - Obligations with a Penal Clause
Art. 1226. In obligations with a penal clause, the penalty shall substitute the indemnity for
damages and the payment of interests in case of noncompliance, if there is no stipulation
to the contrary. Nevertheless, damages shall be paid if the obligor refuses to pay the
penalty or is guilty of fraud in the fulfillment of the obligation.
The penalty may be enforced only when it is demandable in accordance with the provisions
of this Code. (1152a)
Art. 1227. The debtor cannot exempt himself from the performance of the obligation by
paying the penalty, save in the case where this right has been expressly reserved for him.
Neither can the creditor demand the fulfillment of the obligation and the satisfaction of
the penalty at the same time, unless this right has been clearly granted him. However, if
after the creditor has decided to require the fulfillment of the obligation, the performance
thereof should become impossible without his fault, the penalty may be enforced. (1153a)
Art. 1228. Proof of actual damages suffered by the creditor is not necessary in order that
the penalty may be demanded. (n)
Art. 1229. The judge shall equitably reduce the penalty when the principal obligation has
been partly or irregularly complied with by the debtor. Even if there has been no

performance, the penalty may also be reduced by the courts if it is iniquitous or

unconscionable. (1154a)
Art. 1230. The nullity of the penal clause does not carry with it that of the principal
obligation.
The nullity of the principal obligation carries with it that of the penal clause. (1155)
CHAPTER 4
EXTINGUISHMENT OF OBLIGATIONS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 1231. Obligations are extinguished:
(1) By payment or performance:
(2) By the loss of the thing due:
(3) By the condonation or remission of the debt;
(4) By the confusion or merger of the rights of creditor and debtor;
(5) By compensation;
(6) By novation.
Other causes of extinguishment of obligations, such as annulment, rescission, fulfillment of
a resolutory condition, and prescription, are governed elsewhere in this Code. (1156a)
SECTION 1. - Payment or Performance
Art. 1232. Payment means not only the delivery of money but also the performance, in any
other manner, of an obligation. (n)
Art. 1233. A debt shall not be understood to have been paid unless the thing or service in
which the obligation consists has been completely delivered or rendered, as the case may
be. (1157)
Art. 1234. If the obligation has been substantially performed in good faith, the obligor may
recover as though there had been a strict and complete fulfillment, less damages suffered
by the obligee. (n)
Art. 1235. When the obligee accepts the performance, knowing its incompleteness or
irregularity, and without expressing any protest or objection, the obligation is deemed fully
complied with. (n)
Art. 1236. The creditor is not bound to accept payment or performance by a third person
who has no interest in the fulfillment of the obligation, unless there is a stipulation to the
contrary.
Whoever pays for another may demand from the debtor what he has paid, except that if he
paid without the knowledge or against the will of the debtor, he can recover only insofar as
the payment has been beneficial to the debtor. (1158a)
Art. 1237. Whoever pays on behalf of the debtor without the knowledge or against the will
of the latter, cannot compel the creditor to subrogate him in his rights, such as those
arising from a mortgage, guaranty, or penalty. (1159a)
Art. 1238. Payment made by a third person who does not intend to be reimbursed by the
debtor is deemed to be a donation, which requires the debtor's consent. But the payment
is in any case valid as to the creditor who has accepted it. (n)
Art. 1239. In obligations to give, payment made by one who does not have the free disposal
of the thing due and capacity to alienate it shall not be valid, without prejudice to the
provisions of Article 1427 under the Title on "Natural Obligations." (1160a)
Art. 1240. Payment shall be made to the person in whose favor the obligation has been
constituted, or his successor in interest, or any person authorized to receive it. (1162a)
Art. 1241. Payment to a person who is incapacitated to administer his property shall be
valid if he has kept the thing delivered, or insofar as the payment has been beneficial to
him.

Payment made to a third person shall also be valid insofar as it has redounded to the
benefit of the creditor. Such benefit to the creditor need not be proved in the following
cases:
(1) If after the payment, the third person acquires the creditor's rights;
(2) If the creditor ratifies the payment to the third person;
(3) If by the creditor's conduct, the debtor has been led to believe that the third person
had authority to receive the payment. (1163a)
Art. 1242. Payment made in good faith to any person in possession of the credit shall
release the debtor. (1164)
Art. 1243. Payment made to the creditor by the debtor after the latter has been judicially
ordered to retain the debt shall not be valid. (1165)
Art. 1244. The debtor of a thing cannot compel the creditor to receive a different one,
although the latter may be of the same value as, or more valuable than that which is due.
In obligations to do or not to do, an act or forbearance cannot be substituted by another
act or forbearance against the obligee's will. (1166a)
Art. 1245. Dation in payment, whereby property is alienated to the creditor in satisfaction
of a debt in money, shall be governed by the law of sales. (n)
Art. 1246. When the obligation consists in the delivery of an indeterminate or generic
thing, whose quality and circumstances have not been stated, the creditor cannot demand
a thing of superior quality. Neither can the debtor deliver a thing of inferior quality. The
purpose of the obligation and other circumstances shall be taken into consideration.
(1167a)
Art. 1247. Unless it is otherwise stipulated, the extrajudicial expenses required by the
payment shall be for the account of the debtor. With regard to judicial costs, the Rules of
Court shall govern. (1168a)
Art. 1248. Unless there is an express stipulation to that effect, the creditor cannot be
compelled partially to receive the prestations in which the obligation consists. Neither may
the debtor be required to make partial payments.
However, when the debt is in part liquidated and in part unliquidated, the creditor may
demand and the debtor may effect the payment of the former without waiting for the
liquidation of the latter. (1169a)
Art. 1249. The payment of debts in money shall be made in the currency stipulated, and if
it is not possible to deliver such currency, then in the currency which is legal tender in the
Philippines.
The delivery of promissory notes payable to order, or bills of exchange or other mercantile
documents shall produce the effect of payment only when they have been cashed, or when
through the fault of the creditor they have been impaired.
In the meantime, the action derived from the original obligation shall be held in the
abeyance. (1170)
Art. 1250. In case an extraordinary inflation or deflation of the currency stipulated should
supervene, the value of the currency at the time of the establishment of the obligation
shall be the basis of payment, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. (n)
Art. 1251. Payment shall be made in the place designated in the obligation.
There being no express stipulation and if the undertaking is to deliver a determinate thing,
the payment shall be made wherever the thing might be at the moment the obligation was
constituted.
In any other case the place of payment shall be the domicile of the debtor.
If the debtor changes his domicile in bad faith or after he has incurred in delay, the
additional expenses shall be borne by him.
These provisions are without prejudice to venue under the Rules of Court. (1171a)
SUBSECTION 1. - Application of Payments
Art. 1252. He who has various debts of the same kind in favor of one and the same
creditor, may declare at the time of making the payment, to which of them the same must

be applied. Unless the parties so stipulate, or when the application of payment is made by
the party for whose benefit the term has been constituted, application shall not be made
as to debts which are not yet due.
If the debtor accepts from the creditor a receipt in which an application of the payment is
made, the former cannot complain of the same, unless there is a cause for invalidating the
contract. (1172a)
Art. 1253. If the debt produces interest, payment of the principal shall not be deemed to
have been made until the interests have been covered. (1173)
Art. 1254. When the payment cannot be applied in accordance with the preceding rules, or
if application can not be inferred from other circumstances, the debt which is most
onerous to the debtor, among those due, shall be deemed to have been satisfied.
If the debts due are of the same nature and burden, the payment shall be applied to all of
them proportionately. (1174a)
SUBSECTION 2. - Payment by Cession
Art. 1255. The debtor may cede or assign his property to his creditors in payment of his
debts. This cession, unless there is stipulation to the contrary, shall only release the debtor
from responsibility for the net proceeds of the thing assigned. The agreements which, on
the effect of the cession, are made between the debtor and his creditors shall be governed
by special laws. (1175a)
SUBSECTION 3. - Tender of Payment and Consignation
Art. 1256. If the creditor to whom tender of payment has been made refuses without just
cause to accept it, the debtor shall be released from responsibility by the consignation of
the thing or sum due.
Consignation alone shall produce the same effect in the following cases:
(1) When the creditor is absent or unknown, or does not appear at the place of payment;
(2) When he is incapacitated to receive the payment at the time it is due;
(3) When, without just cause, he refuses to give a receipt;
(4) When two or more persons claim the same right to collect;
(5) When the title of the obligation has been lost. (1176a)
Art. 1257. In order that the consignation of the thing due may release the obligor, it must
first be announced to the persons interested in the fulfillment of the obligation.
The consignation shall be ineffectual if it is not made strictly in consonance with the
provisions which regulate payment. (1177)
Art. 1258. Consignation shall be made by depositing the things due at the disposal of
judicial authority, before whom the tender of payment shall be proved, in a proper case,
and the announcement of the consignation in other cases.
The consignation having been made, the interested parties shall also be notified thereof.
(1178)
Art. 1259. The expenses of consignation, when properly made, shall be charged against the
creditor. (1178)
Art. 1260. Once the consignation has been duly made, the debtor may ask the judge to
order the cancellation of the obligation.
Before the creditor has accepted the consignation, or before a judicial declaration that the
consignation has been properly made, the debtor may withdraw the thing or the sum
deposited, allowing the obligation to remain in force. (1180)
Art. 1261. If, the consignation having been made, the creditor should authorize the debtor
to withdraw the same, he shall lose every preference which he may have over the thing.
The co-debtors, guarantors and sureties shall be released. (1181a)
SECTION 2. - Loss of the Thing Due

Art. 1262. An obligation which consists in the delivery of a determinate thing shall be
extinguished if it should be lost or destroyed without the fault of the debtor, and before he
has incurred in delay.
When by law or stipulation, the obligor is liable even for fortuitous events, the loss of the
thing does not extinguish the obligation, and he shall be responsible for damages. The same
rule applies when the nature of the obligation requires the assumption of risk. (1182a)
Art. 1263. In an obligation to deliver a generic thing, the loss or destruction of anything of
the same kind does not extinguish the obligation. (n)
Art. 1264. The courts shall determine whether, under the circumstances, the partial loss of
the object of the obligation is so important as to extinguish the obligation. (n)
Art. 1265. Whenever the thing is lost in the possession of the debtor, it shall be presumed
that the loss was due to his fault, unless there is proof to the contrary, and without
prejudice to the provisions of article 1165. This presumption does not apply in case of
earthquake, flood, storm, or other natural calamity. (1183a)
Art. 1266. The debtor in obligations to do shall also be released when the prestation
becomes legally or physically impossible without the fault of the obligor. (1184a)
Art. 1267. When the service has become so difficult as to be manifestly beyond the
contemplation of the parties, the obligor may also be released therefrom, in whole or in
part. (n)
Art. 1268. When the debt of a thing certain and determinate proceeds from a criminal
offense, the debtor shall not be exempted from the payment of its price, whatever may be
the cause for the loss, unless the thing having been offered by him to the person who
should receive it, the latter refused without justification to accept it. (1185)
Art. 1269. The obligation having been extinguished by the loss of the thing, the creditor
shall have all the rights of action which the debtor may have against third persons by
reason of the loss. (1186)
SECTION 3. - Condonation or Remission of the Debt
Art. 1270. Condonation or remission is essentially gratuitous, and requires the acceptance
by the obligor. It may be made expressly or impliedly.
One and the other kind shall be subject to the rules which govern inofficious donations.
Express condonation shall, furthermore, comply with the forms of donation. (1187)
Art. 1271. The delivery of a private document evidencing a credit, made voluntarily by the
creditor to the debtor, implies the renunciation of the action which the former had against
the latter.
If in order to nullify this waiver it should be claimed to be inofficious, the debtor and his
heirs may uphold it by proving that the delivery of the document was made in virtue of
payment of the debt. (1188)
Art. 1272. Whenever the private document in which the debt appears is found in the
possession of the debtor, it shall be presumed that the creditor delivered it voluntarily,
unless the contrary is proved. (1189)
Art. 1273. The renunciation of the principal debt shall extinguish the accessory obligations;
but the waiver of the latter shall leave the former in force. (1190)
Art. 1274. It is presumed that the accessory obligation of pledge has been remitted when
the thing pledged, after its delivery to the creditor, is found in the possession of the
debtor, or of a third person who owns the thing. (1191a)
SECTION 4. - Confusion or Merger of Rights
Art. 1275. The obligation is extinguished from the time the characters of creditor and
debtor are merged in the same person. (1192a)

Art. 1276. Merger which takes place in the person of the principal debtor or creditor
benefits the guarantors. Confusion which takes place in the person of any of the latter does
not extinguish the obligation. (1193)
Art. 1277. Confusion does not extinguish a joint obligation except as regards the share
corresponding to the creditor or debtor in whom the two characters concur. (1194)
SECTION 5. - Compensation
Art. 1278. Compensation shall take place when two persons, in their own right, are
creditors and debtors of each other. (1195)
Art. 1279. In order that compensation may be proper, it is necessary:
(1) That each one of the obligors be bound principally, and that he be at the same time a
principal creditor of the other;
(2) That both debts consist in a sum of money, or if the things due are consumable, they be
of the same kind, and also of the same quality if the latter has been stated;
(3) That the two debts be due;
(4) That they be liquidated and demandable;
(5) That over neither of them there be any retention or controversy, commenced by third
persons and communicated in due time to the debtor. (1196)
Art. 1280. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article, the guarantor may set
up compensation as regards what the creditor may owe the principal debtor. (1197)
Art. 1281. Compensation may be total or partial. When the two debts are of the same
amount, there is a total compensation. (n)
Art. 1282. The parties may agree upon the compensation of debts which are not yet due.
(n)
Art. 1283. If one of the parties to a suit over an obligation has a claim for damages against
the other, the former may set it off by proving his right to said damages and the amount
thereof. (n)
Art. 1284. When one or both debts are rescissible or voidable, they may be compensated
against each other before they are judicially rescinded or avoided. (n)
Art. 1285. The debtor who has consented to the assignment of rights made by a creditor in
favor of a third person, cannot set up against the assignee the compensation which would
pertain to him against the assignor, unless the assignor was notified by the debtor at the
time he gave his consent, that he reserved his right to the compensation.
If the creditor communicated the cession to him but the debtor did not consent thereto,
the latter may set up the compensation of debts previous to the cession, but not of
subsequent ones.
If the assignment is made without the knowledge of the debtor, he may set up the
compensation of all credits prior to the same and also later ones until he had knowledge of
the assignment. (1198a)
Art. 1286. Compensation takes place by operation of law, even though the debts may be
payable at different places, but there shall be an indemnity for expenses of exchange or
transportation to the place of payment. (1199a)
Art. 1287. Compensation shall not be proper when one of the debts arises from a
depositum or from the obligations of a depositary or of a bailee in commodatum.
Neither can compensation be set up against a creditor who has a claim for support due by
gratuitous title, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 301. (1200a)
Art. 1288. Neither shall there be compensation if one of the debts consists in civil liability
arising from a penal offense. (n)
Art. 1289. If a person should have against him several debts which are susceptible of
compensation, the rules on the application of payments shall apply to the order of the
compensation. (1201)
Art. 1290. When all the requisites mentioned in Article 1279 are present, compensation
takes effect by operation of law, and extinguishes both debts to the concurrent amount,

even though the creditors and debtors are not aware of the compensation. (1202a)
SECTION 6. - Novation
Art. 1291. Obligations may be modified by:
(1) Changing their object or principal conditions;
(2) Substituting the person of the debtor;
(3) Subrogating a third person in the rights of the creditor. (1203)
Art. 1292. In order that an obligation may be extinguished by another which substitute the
same, it is imperative that it be so declared in unequivocal terms, or that the old and the
new obligations be on every point incompatible with each other. (1204)
Art. 1293. Novation which consists in substituting a new debtor in the place of the original
one, may be made even without the knowledge or against the will of the latter, but not
without the consent of the creditor. Payment by the new debtor gives him the rights
mentioned in Articles 1236 and 1237. (1205a)
Art. 1294. If the substitution is without the knowledge or against the will of the debtor, the
new debtor's insolvency or non-fulfillment of the obligations shall not give rise to any
liability on the part of the original debtor. (n)
Art. 1295. The insolvency of the new debtor, who has been proposed by the original debtor
and accepted by the creditor, shall not revive the action of the latter against the original
obligor, except when said insolvency was already existing and of public knowledge, or
known to the debtor, when the delegated his debt. (1206a)
Art. 1296. When the principal obligation is extinguished in consequence of a novation,
accessory obligations may subsist only insofar as they may benefit third persons who did
not give their consent. (1207)
Art. 1297. If the new obligation is void, the original one shall subsist, unless the parties
intended that the former relation should be extinguished in any event. (n)
Art. 1298. The novation is void if the original obligation was void, except when annulment
may be claimed only by the debtor or when ratification validates acts which are voidable.
(1208a)
Art. 1299. If the original obligation was subject to a suspensive or resolutory condition, the
new obligation shall be under the same condition, unless it is otherwise stipulated. (n)
Art. 1300. Subrogation of a third person in the rights of the creditor is either legal or
conventional. The former is not presumed, except in cases expressly mentioned in this
Code; the latter must be clearly established in order that it may take effect. (1209a)
Art. 1301. Conventional subrogation of a third person requires the consent of the original
parties and of the third person. (n)
Art. 1302. It is presumed that there is legal subrogation:
(1) When a creditor pays another creditor who is preferred, even without the debtor's
knowledge;
(2) When a third person, not interested in the obligation, pays with the express or tacit
approval of the debtor;
(3) When, even without the knowledge of the debtor, a person interested in the fulfillment
of the obligation pays, without prejudice to the effects of confusion as to the latter's share.
(1210a)
Art. 1303. Subrogation transfers to the persons subrogated the credit with all the rights
thereto appertaining, either against the debtor or against third person, be they guarantors
or possessors of mortgages, subject to stipulation in a conventional subrogation. (1212a)
Art. 1304. A creditor, to whom partial payment has been made, may exercise his right for
the remainder, and he shall be preferred to the person who has been subrogated in his
place in virtue of the partial payment of the same credit. (1213)